This invention relates generally to big game fishing chair mounted on a boat from which a fisherman will fight a big game fish and, more particularly, to a rocking mechanism interposed between a standard fishing chair and pedestal mount to enhance the operation of the chair.
Big game fishing chairs are mounted on the stern or aft deck of a boat to provide a station from which a fisherman can fight and land a big game fish, such as a blue marlin, sailfish, swordfish and the like. The conventional fishing chair has a seat, a back rest, a foot rest, and a pivoted rod holder for receiving the fishing rod. All of this structure is typically mounted on a pedestal for rotational movement about a generally vertical axis to enable the chair to swivel with the movement of the big game fish as it moves about beneath the surface of the water relative to the boat. The conventional fishing chair requires the fisherman to brace against the foot rest and pull backward on the fishing rod to pull the big game fish toward the boat. This action is quite strenuous and can require a significant amount of time, e.g. 4 to 8 hours, to land a big game fish. Even for muscular fishermen, this activity is tiring, particularly on the arms and back of the fisherman.
It has been recognized that it is preferable to use the leg muscles, being the strong muscles of the human body, in the fighting of big game fish. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,086,676 and 3,851,916, for example, have been granted for big game fishing chairs incorporating a sliding mechanism for the seat so that the fisherman can push against the foot rest and, using his leg muscles, slide the seat portion rearwardly relative to the rod holder to effect a rearward movement of the fishing rod to fight the big game fish. Such devices, however, do not effect a pivotal movement of the rod holder, and the supported fishing rod, without the fisherman pulling rearwardly with his arms and back on the fishing rod. While such seat sliding mechanisms divide the effort between the legs, arms and back, the effort remains quite strenuous.
Another prior art apparatus to enhance the effectiveness of a big game fishing chair by providing a mechanism for utilizing the leg muscles of the fisherman can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,161. This apparatus involves a complicated lever and linkage mechanism operatively connected to the rod holder to permit the angler to effect pivotal movement of the rod holder relative to the chair by using leg muscles pressing against a sliding foot rest. Such linkage apparatus is complicated and can be quite dangerous if not used properly in that a big game fish can cause a sudden movement of the foot rest and connected linkage through the fishing rod mounted in the rod holder if the linkage is not properly seated. Furthermore, such linkage does not interconnect with the seat and back rest of the fishing chair.
Furthermore, these known prior art devices require specially manufactured chairs, supports, linkages, etc. which are not readily adaptable to standard fishing chairs on currently available boats. As a result, existing fishing chair structures could not be modified within the scope of the known prior art to enable the owner of an existing fishing chair to take advantage of these features without undertaking considerable expense and structural modifications.
It would be desirable to provide a big game fishing chair that would effect pivotal movement of the rod holder with an exertion of the fisherman""s legs, while allowing the use of the upper body to effect yet further pivotal movement of the rod holder for fighting big game fish. It would be further desirable that such an improvement to a big game fishing chair be adaptable to existing fishing chairs without requiring substantial expense and modification.
It is an object of this invention to provide a big game fishing chair that is capable of rocking to enhance the operation thereof in catching big game fish.
It is an advantage of this invention that the rocking big game fishing chair utilizes the leg muscles of the operator to fight big game fish.
It is a feature of this invention that a greater arc of pivotal movement is possible for a fishing rod when using the rocking action of the big game fishing chair as the pivotal rocking movement of the chair is added to the pivotal movement of the rod holder.
It is another feature of this invention that the rocking mechanism for the big game fishing chair is supported on a pedestal that incorporates a rotational mechanism so that the rocking motion can be aligned with the position of the big game fish.
It is another advantage of this invention that a big game fisherman is less fatigued when using the rocking action of the instant invention to fight big game fish.
It is another object of this invention to provide a rocking mechanism that can be interposed between a standard big game fishing chair and a standard pedestal mount.
It is still another feature of this invention that the rocking mechanism of the instant invention can be used to convert a standard big game fishing chair to a rocking action version.
It is still another advantage of this invention that the rocking mechanism can be installed into a standard big game fishing chair with a minimum of inconvenience.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a number of adjustments for a big game fishing chair to allow the rocking mechanism to be utilized by operators of different stature and size.
It is yet another feature of this invention that the rocking mechanism can be locked to disable the rocking action at the discretion of the operator.
It is yet another advantage of this invention that the rocking action of the instant invention can be locked to prevent movement thereof while the big game fishing chair is not in use.
It is a further feature of this invention to provide an optional, alternative mounting holes for the rocker links of the rocker mechanism for selectively varying the rocking characteristics of the rocker mechanism.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a big game fishing chair which is durable in construction, inexpensive of manufacture, carefree of maintenance, facile in assemblage, and simple and effective in use.
These and other objects, features and advantages are accomplished according to the instant invention by providing a big game fishing chair that provides a rocking action to enhance the rod movement while fighting big game fish. The rocking action is controlled by the legs of the operator, which lessens fatigue. The rocking mechanism includes a casting that is supported on the rotational mount of a standard pedestal. The chair is supported on the casting by two pairs of front and rear pivot links that are angled toward one another to provide the desired pivotal action for the chair relative to the pedestal which is fixed to the boat deck. The rocking action supplied by the rocking mechanism, between a full rearward position and a full forward position, provides arcuate movement to the fishing rod with requiring any traditional movement supplied to the fishing rod through the pivotal movement of the rod holder. A locking mechanism is operable to fix the rocker mechanism in a non-pivoting configuration to prevent the rocking mechanism from being operable, thus disabling the rocking action while the chair is not in use.